2011-10-02 - To Challenge a Knight
It was perhaps mid evening the sun going down but still light enough to see without street lights. Grant had tracked down another enchanted object, a coin which had a habit of making those who held it incredibly lucky, with disasterous results when the owner lets go of it. The owner had won the lottery and now set the coin down on a nightstand. Grant, wearing the bronze mask which hid his upper half of his face broke into the home and reclaimed it. He was climbing out of a window now and down the fire escape. Having taken time while guarding Eym doing 'patrols' together, Man-at-Arms has taken it upon himself to attempt such an outting on his own. To most at the street level, there is nothing to see, as the street lights start to come on long before they are necessary, and their light tends to make looking up past them into the developing gloom less than enlightening. But upon the air, a horse rides across the sky as if upon a firmament road, bearing a gleaming, armored figure. Not at all the subtle or overly insightful sort, Man-at-Arms doesn't tend to notice burglars, unless they make a spectacle of themselves in some way. Or, perhaps, if their victims make quite a ruckus upon discovering the crime. But to one with the sense for the magical and the mystical, Man-at-Arms himself is a rather resplendant specimen, and hard to miss. And he is bearing a magical item that most would never see, which seems to serve as the very font of his own wellspring of power. Grant would climb to the roof as he puts the coin away in his trench coat. He then looks up, his ring alerting him to another magical object. He looked up the sky and draws a colt and raises it, aiming at the man on the horse, aiming at the shoulder, pulling the hammer of the gun back and fires a shot, the bullet actually magical energy as he tries to hit the man. Nothing seems to really register for the young man on the horse, until the shot rings out and slams into the armor of his shoulder. That gets his attention, and he pulls back the reins, wheeling around and sweeping the area around him, looking for the source of the shot. The shot that, it certainly appears, has not done any damage beyond pinging off that gleaming armor of his. Clearly, it's not just steel. It is mythic steel, as resitant to magic as it is to physical forces. That sense for magical objects would put the target somewhere over the young blonde knight's chest. Spotting something or someone moving on a rooftop below, the wheeling knight charges, those hooves of his steed 'thundering' silently across the air as they descend towards the roof with intent. Someone /did/ just take a potshot at him for no reason, after all. Knights tend to take a dim view of such foolishness. Grant watched him intently as he would then pull his other colt out, readying them both as he simply waits for the man to come down to the roof. Once the knight was within range, he just looked him over, trying to determine what part of the garments the man wore could be the magical artifact granting the knight power. He remains silent and guns aimed. It could well be any part of the knight's rainment providing his magical power, but there does not seem to be any part that is exceptional beyond the others. The young knight reaches the rooftop with the clatter of hooves and dismounts, leading with his gleaming shield as he sends his armored steed away, clearly seeking safety for the horse from those magical bullets. "I know not who you be, knave!. But thou has attacked a knight without honor and without reason. I woulds't have thy name, before I take thee to task for thy crimes!" Yeah. He talks like that. And he advances like he means it, in spite of the handguns of doom. "I attacked to attract your attention. Missed intentionally. You use a magical artifact to grant your powers. I cannot trust you to not misuse it. Relinquish it so I may store it someplace where it will be out of everyone's reach." Grant says calmly, thumbs pulling the hammers back. "Refuse and I will be forced to take it from you." He says calmly. "You did not miss, Sirrah. You merely failed to do harm. Tis not your decision, the disposition of that which hath been given unto my care. And if you persist in this attack, I cannot and shall not guarantee thy safety." The young knight stands his ground, unflinching. Frankly, he's everything the storybooks ever said his kind should be, and then some. "This is thy last warning: stand thee down, Sirrah." "It is my duty to maintain the balance, and you threaten it. Relinquish it." He says calmly, not seeming intimidated by the knight. "This charge has been passed down my lineage. I am to keep the balance and collect magical objects that can be misused." He says calmly. "Final warning." "You mistake me, Sirrah. Whatever magical object lieth within my possession is my charge. It is no threat to any balance, nor am I. I shall not relinquish it to thee, e'en upon my very life. And should you attack me again, I assure you I will prove my honor upon thee bodily." This knight is not kidding. "Do you even understand the full capabilities of your object? Do you know of the negative conscequences which comes with power? If you truely have honor then you will place the lives of others above your desire for this object." He says as he would lower one gun, holstering it as he reaches with his free hand to pull out a large old coin. "For example, this coin, literally alters fate to favor the holder, but should they let it go, then fate will demand their lives as recompense. Do you know the costs for your power? And if you do, does it threaten more then yourself?" He asks calmly. "I know of the positive consequences of the power of which I am now custodian. I have saved lives, and I continue to do all I can to help others. Can you, who shoots someone he does not know, with surprise, from behind, without any idea the harm he might do, say the same?" Man-at-Arms intones forcefully. "I know the price paid by the previous bearer, when failure came. And I shall pay that price, and gladly, when my time comes, if it means I can save more lives and help more people before that time comes. It is the least I can do for the charge laid upon me, and you have no authority to abrogate that." "Most who carry magical objects are aggressive. I reacted appropriately." Grant says as he would put the coin back to his pocket. "And as you said, I did you no harm. These bullets will never kill anyone." He says. The sound of a massive car crash further down the street is heard, he never took his eyes off the knight. "If you value the life of the man who had this coin, you best go save him. If you can keep him alive long enough for me to store this coin where it's magic wont affect him, then I may believe you will not let others suffer from your object." He says calmly. "I am not the one here in need to prove his intentions, Sirrah, nor do I owe thee anything." Yet still the young knight does turn his head, glancing in that direction. "Nevertheless, the saving of lives and helping of others in need is my calling. And if you are not honorable enough to help these people, then I shall." He gives a shrill whistle, and the armored stallion thunders down out of the sky, the young knight vaulting into the saddle with the same grace and poise he showed in his dismount. With a clatter of hooves, the stallion - who never stopped moving - continues off the roof and down to the street level, charging towards the accident and those in need. It would be the perfect chance to take another pot shot at his back, and yet the young knight never gives another glance at the shooter. "My duty is to retrieve the relics which can destroy the balance. The human race has plenty of champions of their own." Grant says as he watches the being. A careful eye watches the knight and he raises his pistol towards the knight's back and he just keeps it aimed. He was tempted, but he doesnt fire. As he walked, he speaks an incantation, and then he glows as he vanishes completely mid air. A teleportation spell. Since he does not take a shot, he will never know what would have happened had he been foolish enough to try. What he does know is that the young knight is as heroic as his speech. And the man in that car accident survives, if not prettily, delivered in timely fashion to the hospital in the arms of that knight, upon his majestic steed.